Heritage

I have been blessed with a great heritage.

The church I grew up in was filled with great people who loved me deeply and took time out of their lives to make an investment in mine. Many of them continue to check on me now and then, and each time they do, I'm reminded of how purposeful the Lord was in placing them where He did when He did.

One such blessing to my life is Jody. (So excited for her...her first novel is set to release this October. If any of you love fiction, you should check it out! It's called The Preacher's Bride and is published by Bethany House.) She and her husband were youth pastors at our church for a while, and they both made a deep impact on me.

I may have mentioned this before, but it's been a while, so I'll say it again. One Sunday, we had a visitor who said some very rude things to me during class. That very week, I received a card from Jody (which I still have!) encouraging me to put aside his words and know that my value comes from the Lord and not from the words of others.

This week, I received an email from her, encouraging me on my journey, promising to lift me to the Lord, and reminding me that He is faithful. To know that she, lo these many years after I graduated from youth group, would take time out of her schedule as wife and mom and teacher and writer...to encourage me...reminds me of what a blessing God gave me in her!

The summer Jody and her husband were married, another couple filled in as our youth pastors. Though their time with us was short, they made a lasting impact on me.

Their oldest daughter just embarked on a new journey...and I am thrilled for her. I've never met her in person, but to read her writing tells me she is one of those rare treasures who pursues the Lord with pure abandon. It also tells me that the training I received for that brief summer was just a snippet of the training she's been so blessed to receive these last eighteen years.

And again, even though I'm not in their youth group anymore, I do sometimes like to go back to them for wisdom. And here is a piece of wisdom he shared with me recently: The people God used mightily in Scripture were passionate, forward-moving, flawed people who really loved God at their core, yet did not allow legalism and fear to "spoil" who God made them to be.

I want to paint that on my wall!

Thank You, LORD, for the heritage You gave me (more years ago than I plan to put into print). Thank You for your faithfulness to me. Instill in me the passion and drive to plunge ahead in my journey, flawed though I am, but loving You to the core.